Tuesday, 2 December 2025—President University held a session of the President University Ambassador Lecture (PUAL) Series at Theatre Room, President University Convention Center (PUCC), Jl. H. Usmar Ismail, Jababeka City. The event featured H.E. Joanna Jane Anderson, Ambassador of New Zealand to ASEAN, who delivered a lecture entitled “Why ASEAN Matters: Strategic Presence and Engagement Beyond Borders.”

Ambassador Anderson highlighted the importance of ASEAN in today's international landscape. Currently, ASEAN is acknowledged as a key regional platform for cooperation. Not only as a platform to connect with ASEAN countries, but also to connect with ASEAN's external partners such as the US, Australia, and many other countries.

Building on this context, Ambassador Anderson underscored the significance of ASEAN–New Zealand relations, particularly as the current year marks an important milestone with New Zealand formally becoming a strategic partner of ASEAN. She also addressed historical and cultural linkages between New Zealand and Southeast Asia, explaining that the Māori people, the indigenous people of New Zealand, have historical connections through Southeast Asia that contribute to cultural and linguistic ties across the region. These insights helped place current ASEAN–New Zealand cooperation within a wider historical and regional perspective.

Ambassador Anderson then elaborated on New Zealand’s engagement with the ASEAN region through concrete forms of cooperation. She noted that New Zealand produces and exports high-quality food products and technology to Asian markets, and highlighted collaboration between New Zealand and Indonesia in the renewable energy sector, particularly geothermal development. “We have a strong geothermal program with Indonesia,” she stated. This discussion illustrated how regional and bilateral cooperation is carried out in the economic and energy sectors. (Graciella V, PR Team. Photo: PR Team)